Attention Airline Pilots

[JeremyAV8R]

I was thinking today, how do you stay in shape when on trips? Do the Hotels have weight rooms? Do you take a taxi from the Hilton, or where ever your staying, to a Gold's Gym?

Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[bigD]

Jeremy, have you SEEN airline pilots these days? The only working out they do is lifting the donuts to their mouths!

Juuuuuust kidding guys! Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust kidding!

 

[Jetsnake]

I loved the last post.
The carrier I'm with requires a fitness
center in the hotel we stay at. In SBA
(Santa Barbara) the hotel we stay at
doesn't have a facility, so we can get
free passes to Gold's Gym.
And don't forget about the 12 oz. curls
that can purchased everywhere we go.

 

[aviatrix]

What're ya kidding?

Jeremy,
Dont fret about it at all! When you're instructing and flying freight for years and years, you wont have the money to eat! So you wont have to worry about working out!

 

[hyper]

Amen

 

[JeremyAV8R]

Re: What're ya kidding?

Jeremy,
Dont fret about it at all! When you're instructing and flying freight for years and years, you wont have the money to eat! So you wont have to worry about working out!

I'm a full time student, fly 2 times per day, 5days a week. Yet among other obligations, I manage to hit the gym daily. I always find time for lifting/running.
So do all airline's insist, you stay at an hotel with weights? Or just a select few?

 

[FearlessFreep]

Just as you have to take time out of your day to dedicate to working out you have to do the same while on the road.

It can be a bit more difficult while out on a trip. Sometimes just sheer fatigue can be a real problem. There are times when I am really tired and I will NOT work out even though I have the strong overwhelming compulsion to do so.

Being out on the road can be stressful at times, both emotionally and physically, (I just got hom from a 36 day trip, and the phone is ringing off the hook for me to go back out on my off time). I will workout at every opportunity that I can get, (other than the complete exhaustion situation).

As some of the other people have stated a number of contracts/work agreements will state the requirement/desire of being booked in hotels with workout facilities. I have been to some hotels that have excellent facilities, one actually doubles as a public health club. Some hotels will not be so well equipped or the equipment is old or broken. There is quite a demand for workout facilties so many hotels are installing or upgrading .

For those that don't have anything they might have opportunites available with local gyms for either free or a small charge. The only problem with these are getting to the location. You might be able to get the hotel courtesy van to take you there, but as they mostly pickup guests at airports you might get stuck at the gym for a while waiting for a lift. I have yet to call a cab for transport mainly because of the expense (I don't make those major airline megabucks!). If there are absolutely nothing available I will weather permitting either run, (not my preferred workout , too hard on my shins) or I will do calisthenics in my hotel room, or go for loooong walks or a combination of all of the above.

Overall the effort is worth it. There is a fair amount of crewmembers that do workout, so you will have plenty of company.

 

[CatYaaak]

Worrying about weight rooms (not to mention health food & hair mousse) causes stress, and stress kills. You'll be a much happier, stress-free pilot if you can take all that time spent working out and transition now to a lifestyle that only requires cups of black coffee and a few smokes for happiness.

CatYaaak (will never completely trust a pilot who doesn't drink coffee).

 

[jetexas]

You know what they say..."No Pain,...No Pain!"

 

[TurboS7]

The big thing you fight is fatique. I have had first officers that get up at 0400 and workout for a 0700 show. By the time they get to the end of a 16+ hour workday they are useless. Working out just long enough to get the heart rate up to 145BPM for about 5 to 10 minutes seems to be a lot more effective. I save the intense workouts for the 36 to 48 hour layover or for when I am at home. When you only have 11 hour layover from the time you leave the airplane until you are back in the seat again it doesn't offer much time to work out. Bench pressing my flight bag and doing situps and crunches and pushups before hitting the shower in the room is just as efffective and less time consuming. Use the time to sleep, something you will crave after being on the road a while.